System and Method to Route Data in an Anycast Environment

ABSTRACT

A method of routing data in an anycast environment includes sending an instruction from an intelligent route reflector device to an anycast router associated with an anycast network. The instruction signals the anycast router to statically pin up to an initial service node corresponding to a network service. The initial service node is associated with an anycast address. The method includes identifying prefixes of Internet protocol (IP) addresses of customer endpoints that communicate with the anycast network via the anycast router, and sending a route advertisement to a service node router associated with the initial service node. The route advertisement instructs the service node router to send an advertisement to the anycast network announcing that the service node router is a next best hop for data traffic related to the network service and bound for a customer endpoint having an IP address that includes any of the identified prefixes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to communications networks, andmore particularly relates to routing data in an anycast environment.

BACKGROUND

Anycast is a network addressing and routing scheme whereby multipleservers used to provide a given application use the same anycastInternet Protocol (IP) address, despite being in different physicallocations. The anycast network infrastructure routes data packets thatare associated with a service from a client to a nearest location of theservice, according to the network topology. Anycast can be used to loadbalance traffic across multiple service nodes while providing optimalrouting to the nearest point on the network having the anycast IPaddress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn toscale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements areexaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporatingteachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respectto the drawings presented herein, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of asystem to route data in an anycast environment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a second particular embodiment ofa system to route data in an anycast environment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a third particular embodiment ofa system to route data in an anycast environment;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of amethod of routing data in an anycast environment;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a second particular embodiment ofa method of routing data in an anycast environment; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of ageneral computer system.

The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicatessimilar or identical items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments. However, it should be understood that this class ofembodiments provides only a few examples of the many advantageous usesof the innovative teachings herein. In general, statements made in thespecification of the present application do not necessarily limit any ofthe various claimed systems, methods or computer-readable media.Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features but notto others.

In one embodiment, a method of routing data in an anycast environmentincludes sending an instruction from an intelligent route reflectordevice (IRR) to an anycast router associated with an anycast network.The instruction signals the anycast router to statically pin up to aninitial service node corresponding to a network service. The initialservice node is associated with an anycast address. The method alsoincludes identifying prefixes of Internet protocol (IP) addresses ofcustomer endpoints that communicate with the anycast network via theanycast router. Further, the method includes sending a routeadvertisement to a service node router associated with the initialservice node. The route advertisement instructs the service node routerto send an advertisement to the anycast network announcing that theservice node router is a next best hop for data traffic that is relatedto the network service and that is bound for a customer endpoint havingan IP address that includes any of the identified prefixes.

In another embodiment, a system to route data in an anycast environmentincludes an intelligent route reflector device (IRR) that includesprocessing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic. Thememory includes instructions executable by the processing logic to sendan instruction to an anycast router associated with an anycast networkto which the IRR is coupled. The instruction signals the anycast routerto statically pin up to an initial firewall farm associated with ananycast Internet protocol (IP) address. The memory also includesinstructions executable by the processing logic to identify prefixes ofIP addresses of customer endpoints that communicate with the anycastnetwork via the anycast router. Further, the memory includesinstructions executable by the processing logic to send a routeadvertisement to a firewall router associated with the initial firewallfarm. The route advertisement instructs the firewall router to send anadvertisement to the anycast network announcing that the firewall routeris a next best hop for data traffic that is bound for a customerendpoint having an IP address that includes any of the identifiedprefixes.

In another embodiment, a computer-readable medium includesprocessor-readable instructions that are executable by processing logicto perform a method. The method includes determining that an anycastrouter associated with an anycast network routes data to an initialservice node corresponding to a network service, from customer endpointsthat communicate with the anycast network via the anycast router. Theinitial service node is associated with an anycast Internet protocol(IP) address. The method also includes identifying prefixes of IPaddresses of the customer endpoints. Further, the method includessending a route advertisement to a service node router associated withthe initial service node. The route advertisement instructs the servicenode router to send an advertisement to the anycast network announcingthat the service node router is a next best hop for data traffic that isrelated to the network service and that is bound for a customer endpointhaving an IP address that includes any of the identified prefixes.

FIG. 1 illustrates a particular embodiment of a system 100 to route datain an anycast environment. The system 100 includes an intelligent routereflector device (IRR) 102 that is adapted to communicate with aplurality of anycast routers AR1 104, AR2 106, AR3 108, AR4 109 and AR5110 via an anycast network 112, such as a transport Internetprotocol/Multi Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS) network. Customerendpoints CE1 114 and CE2 116 are adapted to communicate with servicenode (1) 118 and service node (2) 120 via the anycast routers 104-110and the anycast network 112. Each service node can include a servicenode router such as SNR1 122, and a service device 124 such as anapplication server, a firewall, or another service device. In anotherembodiment, each service node can include more than one service noderouter, more than one service device, or a combination thereof.

Each of the service nodes 118, 120 is adapted to provide variousinstances of a same network service to the customer endpoints CE1 114and CE2 116. Further, the service nodes 118, 120 are each associatedwith a same IP address (an anycast address). In one embodiment, thenetwork service can include a connection-oriented, or stateful,application or service, in which an entire session utilizes a sameserver, firewall, other service device, or combination thereof. Examplesof stateful network services include transmission control protocol(TCP), file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP),video conferencing services, virtual private network (VPN) services,Voice-over IP, or another network service employing stateful packetinspection.

In a particular embodiment, the IRR 102 is adapted to send aninstruction to the anycast router AR1 104, where the instruction signalsthe anycast router AR1 104 to pin up to the service node (1) 118statically or via other methods. Thus, outbound traffic related to thenetwork service from the customer endpoints 114, 116 will be routed tothe service node (1) 118. The IRR 102 is also adapted to identify IPaddress prefixes of the customer endpoints CE1 114 and CE2 116communicating with the anycast network 112 via the anycast router AR1104. For example, the IP address prefix of CE1 114 can be represented asx.x.x.x., and the IP address prefix of CE2 116 can be represented asy.y.y.y. The IRR 102 can be adapted to identify the IP address prefixesof the customer endpoints through manual entry; dynamically throughdirect signaling sessions between the IRR 102 and AR1 104; dynamicallythrough direct signaling sessions between the IRR 102 and the customerendpoints 114, 116; or any combination thereof.

The IRR 102 is adapted to generate and send a route advertisementinstructing the service node router SNR1 122 to send an advertisement tothe anycast network 112 announcing that SNR1 122 is a next best hop fordata related to the network service that is bound for customer endpointshaving any of the IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y. Forinstance, SNR1 122 can send the route advertisement to AR3 108. Thus,return traffic that is related to the network service, and that isdestined for a customer endpoint having an IP address with a prefixx.x.x.x. or y.y.y.y., is routed through the service node (1) 118.

In one embodiment, the anycast routers 104-110 can correspond toseparate logical domains, despite using the same anycast network 112.For instance, AR2 106 can correspond to an MPLS virtual private network(VPN) service, whereas AR3 108 can correspond to an Internet service.

In some instances, it may be necessary to provide the network service tothe customer endpoints 114, 116 via another service node, such as theservice node (2) 120. For example, one or more elements of the servicenode (1) 118, or one or more network elements that comprise a path tothe service node (1) 118, can become congested or fail. As a result, theIRR 102 can be adapted to detect such a changed network condition, andsend another instruction signaling the anycast router AR1 104 to pin upto another service node having the anycast address associated with theservice node (1) 118, such as the service node (2) 120. As a result,outbound traffic related to the network service from the customerendpoints 114, 116 will be routed to the service node (2) 120. In oneembodiment, the IRR 102 can select the service node (2) 120 from aplurality of other service nodes that provide the network serviceaccording to one or more load-balancing rules, other selection criteriaor a combination thereof. Such load-balancing rules may account forfactors such as network conditions, load jitter, packet loss, time ofday, or other factors.

In addition, the IRR 102 is adapted to send an instruction to theservice node router SNR1 122 to stop advertising that the service noderouter SNR1 122 is the next best hop for the customer endpointscommunicating with the anycast router AR1 104. Further, the IRR 102 isadapted to send another route advertisement instructing another servicenode router at the service node (2) 120 to send an advertisement to theanycast network 112 (e.g., to AR5 110) announcing that the other servicenode router is a next best hop for one or more customer endpoints havingany of the identified IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y., withrespect to the network service. As a result, return traffic that isrelated to the network service and destined for a customer endpointhaving an IP address with a prefix x.x.x.x. or y.y.y.y. is routedthrough the service node (2) 120.

In another embodiment, the anycast routers 104-110 can correspond toseparate logical domains, despite using the same anycast network 112.For instance, anycast routers AR2 106 and AR4 109 can correspond to afirst service context, such as an MPLS virtual private network (MPLSVPN) service, whereas anycast routers AR3 108 and AR5 110 can correspondto a second service context, such as an Internet service. The IRR 102can be adapted to send a route advertisement instructing the servicenode router (1) 118 to send an advertisement to AR3 108, or AR5 110 whena change in a network condition occurs, announcing that SNR1 122 is anext best hop for Internet traffic from customer endpoints that haveidentified IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y. and that haverequested the Internet service. Conversely, the IRR 102 can be adaptedto send a route advertisement instructing the service node router (1)118 to send an advertisement to AR2 106, or AR4 109 when a change in anetwork condition occurs, announcing that SNR1 122 is a next best hopfor VPN traffic from customer endpoints that have identified IP addressprefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y. and that have requested the VPN service.

FIG. 2 illustrates a second particular embodiment of a system 200 toroute data in an anycast environment. The system 200 includes anintelligent route reflector device (IRR) 202 that is adapted tocommunicate with a plurality of anycast routers AR1 204, AR2 206, AR3208, AR4 209 and AR5 210 via a network, such as the IP/MPLS network 212.Customer endpoints CE1 214 and CE2 216 are adapted to communicate withFirewall Farm (1) 218 and Firewall Farm (2) 220 via the anycast routers204-210 and the IP/MPLS network 212. Firewall Farm (1) 218 can include afirewall router, such as FWR1 222 and a firewall 224. Firewall Farm (2)220 can include another firewall router FWR2 226 and another firewall228.

The Firewall Farms 218 and 220 can be included in a plurality offirewall farms that are adapted to provide various instances of a sharedfirewall service to customer endpoints, such as the customer endpointsCE1 214 and CE2 216. Each of the plurality of firewall farms, includingthe Firewall Farms 218 and 220, is associated with a same IP address (ananycast address). In one embodiment, each of the Firewall Farms 218 and220 can include a common service VRF, such as the VRF 232, that allowsspecific customers communicating with AR1 204 to route via a servicegateway.

In a particular embodiment, the IRR 202 is adapted to determine thatoutbound traffic from the customer endpoints 214 and 216 is being routedfrom the anycast router AR1 204 through the firewall 224 at the FirewallFarm (1) 218. For example, the IRR 202 can obtain routing informationfrom a routing table 230, such as a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF)routing table, associated with the anycast router AR1 204. In anotherexample, the IRR 202 can be adapted to intelligently determine thatoutbound traffic from the customer endpoints 214 and 216 is being routedthrough the Firewall Farm (1) 218 by monitoring traffic on the IP/MPLSnetwork 212. The IRR 202 can be adapted to map the anycast router AR1204 to the Firewall Farm (1) 218.

Further, the IRR 202 is adapted to identify IP address prefixes of thecustomer endpoints CE1 214 and CE2 216 communicating with the anycastrouter AR1 204. For example, the IP address prefix of CE1 214 can berepresented as x.x.x.x. and the IP address prefix of CE2 216 can berepresented as y.y.y.y. The IRR 202 is adapted to generate and send aroute advertisement instructing the firewall router FWR1 222 to send anadvertisement to the IP/MPLS network 212 (such as to AR3 208) announcingthat FWR1 222 is a next best hop one or more customer endpoints havingany of the identified IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y., withrespect to the network service. As a result, return traffic that isrelated to the network service and destined for a customer endpointhaving an IP address with a prefix x.x.x.x. or y.y.y.y. is routedthrough the firewall 224 at the Firewall Farm (1) 218.

In some instances, network conditions may change that cause the anycastrouter AR1 204 to route outbound traffic from the customer endpoints 214and 216 through a firewall at another firewall service node, such as theFirewall Farm (2) 220. For example, one or more elements of the FirewallFarm (1) 218, or one or more network elements that comprise a path tothe Firewall Farm (1) 218, can become congested or fail. The IRR 202 canbe adapted to determine that such changes have occurred in networkconditions, that the anycast router AR1 204 is routing traffic to theFirewall Farm (2) 220, or a combination thereof. In response to suchdeterminations, the IRR 202 is adapted to map the anycast router AR1 204to the service node (2) 220. Further, the IRR 202 is adapted to instructthe firewall router FWR1 222 to stop advertising that it is a next besthop for the customer endpoints having any of the identified IP addressprefixes.

In addition, the IRR 202 is adapted to send a route advertisementinstructing another firewall router FWR2 226 associated with the otherFirewall Farm (2) 220 to send an advertisement to the IP/MPLS network212 (such as to AR5 210) announcing that the other firewall router FWR2226 is a next best hop for data bound for customer endpoints having anyof the identified IP address prefixes. As a result, return traffic thatis destined for a customer endpoint having an IP address with a prefixof x.x.x.x. or y.y.y.y. is routed through the firewall 228 at theFirewall Farm (2) 220.

In another embodiment, the anycast routers 204-210 can correspond toseparate logical domains, despite using the same IP/MPLS network 212.For instance, anycast routers AR2 206 and AR4 209 can correspond to afirst service context, such as an MPLS virtual private network (MPLSVPN) service, whereas anycast routers AR3 208 and AR5 210 can correspondto a second service context, such as an Internet service. The IRR 202can be adapted to send a route advertisement instructing the servicenode router (1) 218 to send an advertisement to AR3 208, or AR5 210 whena change in a network condition occurs, announcing that SNR1 222 is anext best hop for Internet traffic from customer endpoints that haveidentified IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y. and that haverequested the Internet service. Conversely, the IRR 202 can be adaptedto send a route advertisement instructing the service node router (1)218 to send an advertisement to AR2 206, or AR4 209 when a change in anetwork condition occurs, announcing that SNR1 222 is a next best hopfor VPN traffic from customer endpoints that have identified IP addressprefixes x.x.x.x. and y.y.y.y. and that have requested the VPN service.

FIG. 3 illustrates a third particular embodiment of a system 300 toroute data in an anycast environment. The system 300 includes anintelligent route reflector device (IRR) 302 that is adapted tocommunicate with a plurality of anycast routers AR1 304, AR2 306, AR3308, AR4 309 and AR5 310 via an anycast network 312, such as an IP/MPLSnetwork. Customer endpoints CE1 314 and CE2 316 are adapted tocommunicate with service node (1) 318 and service node (2) 320 via theanycast routers 304-310 and the anycast network 312. Each service nodecan include a service node router, such as SNR1 322 and a service device324, such as an application server, a firewall, or another servicedevice. In another embodiment, a service node can include more than oneservice node router, more than one service device, or a combinationthereof. Each of the service nodes 318, 320 is adapted to providevarious instances of a same network service to the customer endpointsCE1 314 and CE2 316. Further, the service nodes 318, 320 are eachassociated with a same IP address (an anycast address).

The IRR 302 includes processing logic 334 and memory 336 accessible tothe processing logic 334. In addition, the IRR 302 includes a networkinterface 338 adapted to facilitate communication between the IRR 302and the anycast network 312. In a particular embodiment, the memory 336includes a plurality of modules 340-346. The modules 340-346 can includecomputer instructions that are readable and executable by the processinglogic 334 to implement various functions of the IRR 302 with respect torouting data in an anycast environment. For example, the modules 340-346can represent various aspects of one or more software applications,operating systems, or other computer programs. In other embodiments, themodules 340-346 can be implemented as hardware logic or a combination ofhardware logic and computer instructions.

For example, the memory 336 can include a pin-up module 340 that isexecutable by the processing logic 334 to send an instruction to theanycast router AR1 304 signaling the anycast router AR1 304 to pin up toservice node (1) 318. In addition, the pin-up module 340 is executableby the processing logic 334 to send another instruction signaling theanycast router AR1 304 to pin up to another service node having theanycast address associated with the service node (1) 318, such as theservice node (2) 320. In one embodiment, the pin-up module 340 can beexecutable by the processing logic 334 to select the service node (2)320 from a plurality of other service nodes that provide the networkservice according to one or more load-balancing rules, other selectioncriteria or a combination thereof.

In another embodiment, the memory 336 can include a mapping module 342that is executable by the processing logic 334 to determine thatoutbound traffic from the customer endpoints 314, 316 is being routedfrom the anycast router AR1 304 to the service node (1) 318. Forexample, the mapping module 342 can be executable by the processinglogic 334 to obtain routing information from a routing table associatedwith the anycast router AR1 304. In another example, the mapping module342 can be executable by the processing logic 334 to intelligentlydetermine that outbound traffic from the customer endpoints 314, 316 isbeing routed through the service node (1) 318 by monitoring traffic onthe anycast network 312.

The mapping module 342 is executable by the processing logic 334 to mapthe anycast router AR1 304 to the service node (1) 318. In addition, themapping module 342 can be executable by the processing logic 334 todetermine that changes have occurred in network conditions, that theanycast router AR1 304 is routing traffic to the service node (2) 320,or a combination thereof. The mapping module 342 is executable by theprocessing logic 334 to map the anycast router AR1 304 to the servicenode (2) 320.

Further, the memory 336 can include a prefix module 344 that isexecutable by the processing logic 334 to identify IP address prefixesof the customer endpoints CE1 314 and CE2 316 communicating with theanycast router AR1 304. Additionally, the memory 336 can include a routeadvertisement module 346 that is executable by the processing logic 334to generate and send a route advertisement instructing the service noderouter SNR1 322 to send an advertisement to the anycast network 312announcing that SNR1 322 is a next best hop for one or more customerendpoints having any of the identified IP address prefixes x.x.x.x. andy.y.y.y., with respect to the network service, when the anycast routerAR1 304 is pinned up to the service node (1) 318.

After the IRR 302 signals the AR1 304 to pin up to the service node (2)320, or after the IRR determines that the AR1 304 is routing data fromthe customer endpoints 314, 316 to the service node (2) 320, the routeadvertisement module 346 is executable by the processing logic 334 toinstruct the service node router SNR1 322 to stop advertising that it isa next best hop for the customer endpoints having the identified IPaddress prefixes. Moreover, the route advertisement module 346 isexecutable by the processing logic 334 to send a route advertisementinstructing another service node router at the service node (2) 320 tosend an advertisement to the anycast network 312 announcing that theother service node router is a next best hop for data related to thenetwork service that is bound for customer endpoints having any of theidentified IP address prefixes.

FIG. 4 illustrates a particular embodiment of a method of routing datain an anycast environment. At block 400, an intelligent route reflectordevice (IRR) sends an instruction to an anycast router, signaling theanycast router to statically pin up to an initial service node. Theanycast router facilitates communication between a plurality of customerendpoints and a network. Moving to block 402, the IRR identifies IPaddress prefixes of customer endpoints communicating with the anycastnetwork via the anycast router. Proceeding to block 404, the IRRgenerates a route advertisement instructing a service node routerassociated with the initial service node to send an advertisement to thenetwork announcing that the service node router is a next best hop forone or more customer endpoints having any of the identified IP addressprefixes. Advancing to block 406, the IRR sends the generated routeadvertisement to the service node router.

At decision node 408, the IRR determines whether it is to signal theanycast router to pin up to a different service node. For example, theinitial service node can fail, necessitating a pin up change in whichthe IRR signals the anycast router to pin up to a different servicenode. If the IRR determines that a pin up change is necessary, themethod moves to block 410, and the IRR can select another service node,e.g., according to one or more load-balancing rules.

Proceeding to block 412, the IRR instructs the service node router atthe initial service node to stop advertising that it is a next best hopfor the customer endpoints communicating with the anycast router.Continuing to block 414, the IRR sends a route advertisement instructinganother service node router associated with the other service node tosend an advertisement to the network announcing that the other servicenode router is a next best hop for one or more customer endpoints havingany of the identified IP address prefixes. The method can return todecision node 408.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a second particular embodiment ofa method of routing data in an anycast environment. At block 500, anintelligent route reflector device (IRR) determines that an anycastrouter is routing data from customer endpoints through an initialfirewall farm as its nearest or best service node in a shared firewallservice infrastructure. Moving to block 502, the IRR maps the anycastrouter to an initial firewall farm that includes the firewall router.

Proceeding to block 504, the IRR identifies IP address prefixes ofcustomer endpoints communicating with the anycast router. Continuing toblock 506, the IRR generates a route advertisement instructing afirewall router associated with the initial firewall farm to send anadvertisement to the network announcing that the firewall router is anext best hop for one or more customer endpoints having any of theidentified IP address prefixes. Advancing to block 508, the IRR sendsthe generated route advertisement to the firewall router.

At decision node 510, the IRR determines whether network conditions havechanged, such that the anycast router is routing data from the customerendpoints through another firewall farm. If the IRR determines that suchchanges have occurred in network conditions, the method moves to block512, and the IRR instructs the firewall router at the initial firewallfarm to stop advertising that it is a next best hop for the customerendpoints communicating with the anycast router. Continuing to block514, the IRR sends a route advertisement instructing another firewallrouter associated with the other firewall farm to send an advertisementto the network announcing that the other firewall router is a next besthop for one or more customer endpoints having any of the identified IPaddress prefixes. The method can return to decision node 510.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a particular embodiment of ageneral computer system. The computer system 600 may operate as astandalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to othercomputer systems or peripheral devices. In an illustrative embodiment,such standalone and peripheral devices can include, for example, anycastrouters, firewalls, other service devices, firewall routers, otherservice node routers, customer endpoint devices, servers, intelligentroute reflectors, other network elements, or any combination thereof, asillustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 600 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 600 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 600 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 600 may include a processor 602, e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both.Moreover, the computer system 600 can include a main memory 604 and astatic memory 606 that can communicate with each other via a bus 608. Asshown, the computer system 600 may further include a video display unit610, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emittingdiode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, or a cathoderay tube (CRT). Additionally, the computer system 600 may include aninput device 612, such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 614,such as a mouse. The computer system 600 can also include a disk driveunit 616, a signal generation device 618, such as a speaker or remotecontrol, and a network interface device 620.

In a particular embodiment as depicted in FIG. 6, the disk drive unit616 may include a computer-readable medium 622 in which one or more setsof instructions 624, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 624 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 624 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 604,the static memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during executionby the computer system 600. The main memory 604 and the processor 602also may include computer-readable media. The network interface device620 can provide connectivity to a network 626, e.g., a wide area network(WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other network.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 624 or receives and executes instructions 624responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 626 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 626.Further, the instructions 624 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 626 via the network interface device 620.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

In accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein, a system and methodto route data in an anycast environment is provided. The disclosedsystem and method share the advantages of anycast infrastructures, byload-balancing traffic across various service nodes and routing datafrom customer endpoints to nearest or best service nodes. Additionally,however, the disclosed system and method provide symmetrical pathcontrol for stateful protocols, such as FTP, TCP, HTTP, VoIP, VPN, andother connection-oriented protocols for which anycast routing istypically disadvantageous. In the example of a shared firewall service,the disclosed system and method also relive users of manuallyconfiguring primary and backup firewalls, which can interrupt theload-balancing optimization of anycast routing and cause service blackholes under certain failure conditions.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP)represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosedherein, including Layer 4 stateful protocols running over IP, areconsidered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the FIGs. are to be regarded as illustrative rather thanrestrictive.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description of the Drawings, variousfeatures may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into theDetailed Description of the Drawings, with each claim standing on itsown as defining separately claimed subject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments which fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosed subject matter. Thus, tothe maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present disclosedsubject matter is to be determined by the broadest permissibleinterpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shallnot be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.

1. A method of routing data in an anycast environment, the methodcomprising: sending an instruction from an intelligent route reflectordevice (IRR) to an anycast router associated with an anycast network,wherein the instruction signals the anycast router to statically pin upto an initial service node corresponding to a network service andwherein the initial service node is associated with an anycast address;identifying prefixes of Internet protocol (IP) addresses of customerendpoints that communicate with the anycast network via the anycastrouter; and sending a route advertisement to a service node routerassociated with the initial service node, wherein the routeadvertisement instructs the service node router to send an advertisementto the anycast network announcing that the service node router is a nextbest hop for data traffic that is related to the network service andthat is bound for a customer endpoint having an IP address that includesany of the identified prefixes.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theroute advertisement sent to the service node router instructs theservice node router to send the advertisement to a first anycast routercoupled to the service node when the data traffic bound for customerendpoints requesting a first network service and instructs the servicenode router to send the advertisement to a second anycast router coupledto the service node when the data traffic bound for customer endpointsrequesting a second network service.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising detecting a change in a network condition.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, further comprising sending another instruction from the IRR tothe anycast router after detecting the change, wherein the otherinstruction signals the anycast router to statically pin up to anotherservice node corresponding to the network service and wherein the otherservice node is associated with the anycast address.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising selecting the other service node from aplurality of service nodes corresponding to the network service based ona load-balancing rule.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprisingsending an instruction to the service node router associated with theinitial service node to stop advertising that it is the next best hopfor data traffic that is related to the network service and that isbound for a customer endpoint having an Internet protocol (IP) addressthat includes any of the identified prefixes.
 7. The method of claim 4,further comprising sending another route advertisement to anotherservice node router associated with the other service node, wherein theother route advertisement instructs the other service node routerassociated with the other service node to send an advertisement to theanycast network announcing that the other service node router is thenext best hop for data traffic that is related to the network serviceand that is bound for a customer endpoint having an Internet protocol(IP) address that includes any of the identified prefixes.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the network service includes a stateful networkservice.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the stateful network serviceincludes transmission control protocol (TCP), file transfer protocol(FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), video conferencing services,virtual private network (VPN) services, or Voice-over IP.
 10. The methodof claim 8, wherein the stateful network service includes a sharedfirewall service.
 11. A system to route data in an anycast environment,the system comprising: an intelligent route reflector device (IRR) thatincludes processing logic and memory accessible to the processing logic,wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processinglogic to: send an instruction to an anycast router associated with ananycast network to which the IRR is coupled, wherein the instructionsignals the anycast router to statically pin up to an initial firewallfarm associated with an anycast Internet protocol (IP) address; identifyprefixes of IP addresses of customer endpoints that communicate with theanycast network via the anycast router; and send a route advertisementto a firewall router associated with the initial firewall farm, whereinthe route advertisement instructs the firewall router to send anadvertisement to the anycast network announcing that the firewall routeris a next best hop for data traffic that is bound for a customerendpoint having an IP address that includes any of the identifiedprefixes.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the memory includesinstructions executable by the processing logic to send anotherinstruction from the IRR to the anycast router after detecting a changein a network condition, wherein the other instruction signals theanycast router to statically pin up to another firewall farm associatedwith the anycast address.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the memoryincludes instructions executable by the processing logic to send aninstruction to the firewall router associated with the initial firewallfarm to stop advertising that it is the next best hop for data trafficthat is bound for a customer endpoint having an Internet protocol (IP)address that includes any of the identified prefixes.
 14. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by theprocessing logic to send another route advertisement to another firewallrouter associated with the other firewall farm, wherein the other routeadvertisement instructs the other firewall router associated with theother firewall farm to send an advertisement to the anycast networkannouncing that the other firewall router is the next best hop for datatraffic that is bound for a customer endpoint having an Internetprotocol (IP) address that includes any of the identified prefixes. 15.A computer-readable medium including processor-readable instructionsthat are executable by processing logic to perform a method, the methodcomprising: determining that an anycast router associated with ananycast network routes data to an initial service node corresponding toa network service, from customer endpoints that communicate with theanycast network via the anycast router, wherein the initial service nodeis associated with an anycast Internet protocol (IP) address;identifying prefixes of IP addresses of the customer endpoints; andsending a route advertisement to a service node router associated withthe initial service node, wherein the route advertisement instructs theservice node router to send an advertisement to the anycast networkannouncing that the service node router is a next best hop for datatraffic that is related to the network service and that is bound for acustomer endpoint having an IP address that includes any of theidentified prefixes.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the method further comprises obtaining routing information froma routing table associated with the anycast router to determine that theanycast router routes data to the initial service node from the customerendpoints.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein themethod further comprises monitoring traffic on the anycast network todetermine that the anycast router routes data to the initial servicenode from the customer endpoints.
 18. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the method further comprises mapping the anycastrouter to the initial service node.
 19. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the method further comprises determining that theanycast router routes data to another service node corresponding to thenetwork service and having the anycast address, after a change in anetwork condition.
 20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, whereinthe method further comprises: sending an instruction to the service noderouter associated with the initial service node to stop advertising thatit is the next best hop for data traffic that is related to the networkservice and that is bound for a customer endpoint having an Internetprotocol (IP) address that includes any of the identified prefixes; andsending another route advertisement to another service node routerassociated with the other service node, wherein the other routeadvertisement instructs the other service node router associated withthe other service node to send an advertisement to the anycast networkannouncing that the other service node router is the next best hop fordata traffic that is related to the network service and that is boundfor a customer endpoint having an Internet protocol (IP) address thatincludes any of the identified prefixes.